Home is Where the Heart Is
by JemilyPLLGleek78-10
Summary: Major spoilers for end of season 2/mid season 3. Deals with Maya's disappearance and the secrets that Emily, Samara, and Alison have been keeping from everyone. AU-ish. Emily and Samara never dated. Emily has a 9-year-old sister named Grace. And Noel Kahn is part of their friend group. Emaya/Haleb/Spoby pairings. Rated T to be safe.
1. All the Should'ves & Could'ves

**Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters.**  
 **Spoilers: Season 2 and 3 of PLL. If you have not seen the ending of two onwards, please do not read or read at your own discretion.**  
 **Rated: T to be safe.**

 **Notes: set directly after Caleb is shot and Lyndon James is killed. Everything that happened around the time of Maya's disappearance/death, happened in 2007, instead of 2011. I am using the birthdays from my Little Liars story.**

* * *

 _ **October 2007**_

* * *

 ** _*Rosewood Memorial Hospital*_**

As they sit in the waiting room, Emily with an arm around Hanna, – the blonde has yet to let Emily out of her sight, – the older girl thinks back over the events of the night.

She found out that Maya does not, in fact, have a cousin named Nate St. Germaine. The man that was pretending to her cousin is actually named Lyndon James.

It turns out, Emily had been spending time over the last few weeks with the person who was the very reason why Maya's parents were forced to fake their daughter's death and then disappear into WitSec.

He's gone.

Dead.

That's all Emily can think about. She sits there, with Hanna glued to her side, fingering the phone that is in her pocket.

She needs to call Samara.

Emily needs to let her know that the person who tried to kill her best friend, her sister, is _dead_.

That means only one thing.

Maya can come home now.

Knowing that she probably will not be let go by Hanna, Emily takes a deep breath and pulls her phone out.

Speed dialing from memory, Emily catches Alison's eye from where the blonde is sitting across from them, with Aria beside her.

It is then, that Emily sees it dawn on her.

She _knows_. She knows who Emily is calling. She realizes why, and Emily watches as relief floods Alison's face and she begins crying for a whole new reason.

Samara picks up almost immediately. It's after ten in Rosewood, which would make it around 7 p.m. in California.

" _Hey, Em! How's everything going?_ "

"Samara…" Emily heard the sharp intake of breath on the other end. Samara knows Emily only calls her that when things are serious.

" _What's going on, Emily? Are the girls all right? The boys, Grace?_ "

Emily decides to go with the bad news first, so she can lessen the blow with the good news.

"Caleb is in the hospital. He was shot."

Another sharp intake of breath. " _Oh, my god! Please tell me he is going to be ok._ "

"Yeah, he's in surgery right now, but he should recover just fine..." Emily pauses for a moment. "There is something else…Did you know that Maya doesn't actually have a cousin named Nate St. Germaine?"

" _I knew it! Her mom is an only child and her dad has no family with that name. I knew he had to be some weirdo pretending to be her cousin._ "

"He wasn't a weirdo, Samara," Emily says this but there is no malice to the words. "Samara, his name was Lyndon James. He and Maya met when…when they both went to True North."

Emily can hear the other girls' reaction around her as she says this. They had no idea about Maya and her stalker from True North.

Samara has no response to this. "You still there 'Mar?"

" _Yeah, yeah, I'm here. You're saying…you're saying that the man who pretended to be Maya's cousin was actually the fucking stalker she told us about?_ "

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." There's a pause and then Emily continues. "Samara, there were three people in that lighthouse." Emily had already told Samara where she was going with "Nate". She was going to see a lighthouse and spend some time just the two of them. Only, things didn't go as planned.

"One person is dead, one person is in surgery right now, and one is speaking to you on the phone. You do the math." After saying this, Emily waits.

Waits for her to realize.

Waits for it to dawn on her.

And waits for it to be clear to the others sitting around Emily.

 _"_ _Emily, don't joke, ok? Don't say that unless you mean it."_

"I mean it, Sammie," Emily voice breaks as she uses Maya's childhood nickname. "You…you need to call Jack. Make sure he knows. So he can get things in order, ok? I love you, Sammie. Don't ever forget that."

 _"_ _I love you, too, Em. I'll call Jack and let him know and let him get everything set up. Give Hanna my love. Tell her I'm thinking of her and Caleb. I'll talk to you later, ok?"_

"Okay, I'll have my phone by me all night so call whenever. Bye." Hanging up, Emily places the phone in her pocket. She looks around the room at the girls and Toby and Melissa, who had shown up a few minutes ago.

Emily waits. The room is filled with silence; the only thing breaking is the quiet sound of the person at the service desk taking phone calls.

Emily makes eye contact with Alison. Neither of them was supposed to know. Samara wasn't supposed to know. Jack, or Jackson Taylor, Officer Taylor, the officer who was in charge of getting Maya and her parents new names, a new home, and new life to live, was threatened by Maya.

She threatened that if he did not tell Emily and Samara that she was not actually dead, but alive and well, in WitSec, then she would leave her new life, go back to Rosewood, and tell them herself.

She knew she would be putting herself and her parents' lives in danger. She knew that if this Lyndon guy found out she was still alive, then he would most definitely not screw up on succeeding to kill her the second time.

But at the time, she did not care. She told him what would happen if he didn't listen, so, against everything he knew, everything he learned about the rules for working for Witness Protection, he said yes.

He would tell them.

And that is how Emily and Samara found out. They found out that the body in Maya's backyard was not actually 16-year-old Maya Anne St. Germaine.

They found out that Maya was ok, that she was alive and well, doing as good as she could. She was in Witness Protection. She and her parents were given new names, ones that Jack could not tell them, and sent to live in Montana.

Lyndon James was a very dangerous person. He became obsessed with Maya and when Maya, in his eyes, left him to be with Emily, he was enraged. He followed her to Rosewood, lured her away from the safety of her friends and family, and then attempted to take her life.

It didn't work. Maya got away. She ran and she ended up at Noel Kahn's cabin. She broke in and was going to hide.

 ** _:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/_**

 ** _*Flashback – Date: April 1_** ** _st_** ** _, 2007*_**

 ** _16-year-old Noel Kahn comes downstairs as he hears the house phone ring. Picking it up, he realizes it is the security company, calling to alert, or more so his parents, of a break in at their cabin._**

 ** _He calls his dad at work, to let him know he is going to meet the police there. His dad okay's it, and Noel grabs a jacket, his shoes, and his keys._**

 ** _Pulling up to the cabin 45 minutes later, he meets with two police officers – Officer Johnson and Officer Roberts._**

 ** _"_** ** _Hello, Officers," He greets. "I'm here because of the reported break-in." He shakes their hands and proceeds to do a walkthrough with them, where they find a busted window in the back, but little else._**

 ** _As the Officers are looking around, to see if they can find fingerprints or even footsteps that could lead them to the burglar, Noel sees something on the ground._**

 ** _He shines his flashlight over it and sees it is a footprint, exactly what the police are looking for._**

 ** _As he goes get their attention, his light hits something else, or more some_** **one** ** _else._**

 ** _A figure hiding in the bushes. It's girl._**

 ** _Maya. Emily's girlfriend._**

 ** _He makes a "shush" motion with his finger, and she nods. A few minutes later, after not finding anything (Noel scraped away the shoeprint), the police tell him they are leaving and that whoever broke in must have gotten away._**

 ** _Maya comes out. The way she looks take Noel's breath away. He leads her inside the cabin and gets her a glass of water and an ice pack._**

 ** _She has a bruised cheek, a busted lip, and the beginnings of a black eye._**

 ** _Maya breaks down as Noel hugs her, and she tells him about the guy that has been stalking her – Lyndon James._**

 ** _Noel begs her to let him take her to the police, for her to report this Lyndon guy, so the police can arrest him. She tells him no, she doesn't want to go, at least, not right then._**

 ** _Please, she begged, just let me hide out here. Just let me get a plan on what to do. Noel said ok. What could he do? How could he help? He offered to call Emily, or one of the other girls, or Toby, Caleb, or hell, even her parent._**

 ** _But Maya refuses. She tells him not yet. She can't tell, she can't get anyone involved. Not yet, she said, please, Noel, please, not yet._**

 ** _Noel caves. For the next two weeks, he checks in on Maya, bringing her food, comfort items, taking her back home during a school day when her parents were at work to get a bag of her stuff._**

 ** _:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/_**

 ** _*Three weeks later – 1 week after Maya's "body" was been found*_**

 ** _It's been one week since that night. The girls finally discovered who was behind the –A messages, threatening them, making them jump_** **every single** ** _time their phones went off._**

 ** _Spencer was taken by Mona; they found out by phone that she was their stalker._**

 ** _Mona almost ran them off a cliff, and then proceeded to almost off the cliff. She fell anyway, though it didn't do much damage. She was treated and released from the hospital within a couple of hours._**

 ** _And sent straight to Radley Sanitarium._**

 ** _They thought the night couldn't get any worse._**

 ** _Until they arrived just around the corner from Maya's house. To find cops, an ambulance, police tape…_**

 ** _And Emily's mother._**

 **The police found a body** ** _, she had said._** **They think it's Maya.**

 ** _Emily's world stopped then. All this time, while Maya was_** **just** ** _missing, she thought one day, one day she'll come back._**

 ** _And now, well now, it has been one week. Seven days since Emily's world was turned upside down._**

 ** _It's yet to be righted upwards._**

 ** _Noel Kahn stops by._**

 ** _Pam lets him in. She tells him Emily is upstairs, but that she hasn't come out of her room for anyone, any_** **thing** ** _, except to eat or to go to the bathroom, so don't expect this time to be any different._**

 ** _He nods and heads up._**

 ** _Knocking on the door, he says, "Em, I-I know that you…you probably don't want to talk to anyone, let alone me, but can I… can I come in? Please?"_**

 ** _Silence._**

 ** _Taking a deep breath, he decides he really can't break a promise to someone, if that someone is dead._**

 ** _"_** ** _Emily, Maya wasn't missing the two weeks before her…before she…" He trails off. He can't even_** **think** ** _the words let alone_** **say** ** _them. If only he'd been more firm, forced Maya to go to the police, then maybe she would still be here._**

 ** _He doesn't need to complete the sentence because Emily is already opening the door._**

 ** _She's dressed in a sweatshirt that Noel recognizes as belonging to Maya, and a pair of grey sweatpants. Her eyes and cheeks are red and puffy, and she looks absolutely exhausted. Noel suspects she has got little to no sleep the past week._**

 ** _"_** ** _What do you mean, she wasn't missing?" Her voice is rough._**

 ** _Noel swallows past the lump in his throat. When Maya was reported missing, he had no idea what to do. He knew about the bus ticket that she purchased._**

 ** _He knows because_** **he** ** _was the person in the dark colored car that Maya was speaking to outside the bus station. He took her back to his cabin after she purchased the ticket. A one-way trip to San Francisco, California._**

 ** _They'll think I'm going to visit Samara and her family, she had said. Lyndon will leave Rosewood and then I'll show back up, and everything will be fine again._**

 ** _Why didn't he go to the police? Why didn't he_** **say** ** _something when she was reported missing?_**

 ** _"_** ** _I mean," Noel says, back in present. He slides the bag off his shoulder. It's Maya's. The one that held her clothes and personal belongings from when she was hiding out at his cabin._**

 ** _"_** ** _I mean, that she was not missing. She was hiding, right here in Rosewood, at my family's cabin." He holds out the bag, sort of as a peace offering. "This was the bag she kept there. I haven't gone through it."_**

 ** _Emily takes the bag and walks over to her window seat. Noel follows._**

 ** _"_** ** _She tried to break into my cabin one night, about three weeks ago," He says as he sits. Emily holds onto Maya's bag as if it her lifeline. The one last thing that connects her to Maya._**

 ** _Noel supposes, in a way, it is, and it does._**

 ** _"_** ** _She didn't know about the security system, that set off an alarm and alerted the police," Noel pauses, but Emily doesn't say anything. So, he decides to just keep speaking until she stops him. "I went there, to meet with them. They did a walkthrough and we found the window that was broken in the back of the cabin."_**

 ** _"_** ** _While they were looking for whoever did it, or fingerprints or footprints, anything that would be useful, I saw Maya…she was-… she was hiding in the woods, behind some bushes and trees…" He trails off._**

 ** _Remembering the look on her face, the bruises, the cuts, his eyes well-up. "She looked so scared… I motioned for her to stay quiet, until the police left. Then, I brought her inside. I-I talked to her. She…she told me… God, Em, she told me about some guy that practically beat her up."_**

 ** _At that, Emily's head snaps. He's taken aback at the look in her eye._**

 ** _"_** ** _What guy?" She sits up straighter. "Did she give you a name, did-did she tell you what he looked like? Who was the guy she was talking about, Noel?"_**

 ** _"_** ** _Lyndon," He answers right away because, what good would it do, to lie about it now? "She said his name was Lyndon James. But that's it!" He hurries to assure Em that he has no idea who this guy is, other than a name. If he did, Maya would be alive, and this Lyndon person would either be dead, or in jail._**

 ** _"_** ** _That's all she told me, Em. She said she was being stalked by a guy named Lyndon James. He's been after her since she got back from True North."_**

 ** _Emily's eyes well up. Before he knows it, she has tears streaming down her face. Her next words send chills down his spine._**

 ** _"_** ** _I know. She…she told me about him, too." Emily breaks down, dropping the bag, and Noel immediately scoots over and folds his arms around her._**

 ** _"_** ** _I should have been more firm," Noel whispers after a few moments. "I should have forced her to go to the police and report this asshole. God, Em. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."_**

 ** _Emily tightens her grip on him, almost like_** **she** ** _is comforting_** **him** ** _._**

 ** _He knows he doesn't deserve it, though. He_** **knows** ** _he was the last person to see Maya alive. He_** **should have** ** _done_** **something** ** _. Anything at all._**

 ** _He knows, if he did, Maya St. Germaine would probably still be here._**

 ** _"_** ** _It's ok, Noel," Emily whispers. "This isn't your fault. She was_** **so** ** _stubborn. You wouldn't have got her to do anything if she didn't want to do it."_**

 ** _Hearing it from Emily helps more than anyone could imagine._**

 ** _Her opinion is the other one that matters to him._**

 ** _:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/_**

 ** _*End of flashback – present time*_**

Emily is pulled out of her thoughts by Hanna tugging on her arm. Looking around the room, she sees everyone watching her.

She sighs.

"All right, I think we should head home," Emily says. "I believe I have some explaining to do."

* * *

 **I wanted this to be a one-shot. But I decided to split it. I've had this idea in mind forever. I typed out the first 700 words on my iPad and left it for a while. Over the next several months, I've come back, here and there.**

 **Grace is Emily's little sister, she's nine years old. If you guys want a second chapter just let me know. It will have Emily explaining everything and Maya coming home.**


	2. A Video and the Truth

**Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters.**  
 **Spoilers: Season 2 and 3 of PLL. If you have not seen the ending of two onwards, please do not read or read at your own discretion.**  
 **Rated: T to be safe.**

 **Notes: set directly after Caleb is shot and Lynden James is killed. Everything that happened around the time of Maya's disappearance/death happened in 2007, instead of 2011. I am using the birthdays from my Little Liars story.**

 **I feel like crap today guys, and we are dealing with heavy rain/thunderstorms, so there isn't a lot I can do. I decided to go ahead and update this. I want to really thank you, everyone who reviewed the first chapter, and favorited/followed. This story started out as a few dozen lines on Notes on my iPad before I (finally) transferred it over to MSW on my laptop. and made it an actual story.**

 **Now it is going to end as a three-chapter, 8,000 word story.** **So, thank you to everyone who has found interest in this story! So much on something that was just a tiny little thought that wouldn't leave my head really means a lot. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _*Emily's house*_**

As they all pile inside the living room, Emily's looks around at the faces before her. Hanna has finally let go of her, although the blonde is still standing beside Emily.

Toby and Ezra are here now. She debates calling Noel, but then decides to wait until Maya is actually here before telling him to come over.

Emily's mom stayed at the hospital so she can be updated on how Caleb is doing as soon as he is out of surgery.

Emily sighs.

"Take a seat, everyone. I will be right back. Ali?" Alison follows Emily upstairs and it's not until they are completely up the staircase that everyone moves to sit down.

** everyone is sitting like in the episode where Toby's house explodes, minus Caleb, and plus Melissa and Luke. **

 ** _:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/_**

 ** _*Upstairs*_**

"What exactly are we going to tell them, Em?" Alison asks as soon as they are in the brunette's bedroom. Emily quickly grabs her laptop off her desk and puts it on her bed. She then goes back over to her desk and bends down, feeling underneath it with her hand.

Emily stands up, having got the flashdrive that was taped to the underside of the table, " _I_ am going to tell them the truth. I'll tell them that Maya wasn't actually missing back in April; that she was in Noel's cabin."

The girls, Toby, and Caleb have been good friends with Noel Kahn the past 6 months, especially Emily. They couldn't exactly ignore him when _he_ was the one that broke through, and got Emily to come outside.

Over the next week, after his first visit, he brought her, her homework, helped her with what she didn't understand, and was right there by her side when she went back to school.

Putting a hand to Alison's cheek, the blonde holding onto her wrist, Emily continues. "I'll tell them about looking at Maya's site, about the video I found. I will tell the truth. Maya isn't dead. She went to the police, they realized how dangerous Nate – _Lyndon_ – was, and that the only way to keep Maya safe was to fake her death and put her into Witness protection."

Emily gazes at the blonde. She may not love Alison _like that_ , but she still loves her. And that is why her heart breaks as tears start falling down Alison's cheek. She catches one with her thumb.

"And what about me?"

"You don't have to tell them anything, if you don't want to."

Alison shakes her head, "I don't want to lie to them, Em. I don't want it to seem like you were keeping this secret all by yourself."

Pulling her in for a hug, Emily says, "I'll be ok doing that. But, if you want to them you can." And then, "It's okay, Al. It's all over now," The blonde finally breaks down. "She's ok, it's over. Maya gets to come home now."

Emily stands there for a moment, comforting Ali. She understands completely as the blonde breaks down. She knows just how hard it was – _is_ – to have kept this secret from the girls, letting them believe their best friend was dead.

After a few moments, Alison is ok again. She pulls back and Emily's gives her a small, sad smile. Alison decides to go get cleaned up in the bathroom while Emily puts the flashdrive into her computer and pulls up Maya's website.

Emily had saved many of the videos, blog entries, and pictures on flashdrives, so that if the site were ever lost or messed up, she would still have them. Five minutes later and the two are going back downstairs.

* * *

 ** _*With the others*_**

"Em, what is going on?" Spencer asks as soon as Emily and Alison come back downstairs. She seems Emily with her laptop, and Ali looking like she just got done crying.

"I have something that I need to tell you all. It will be a long explanation, so please wait until the end before interrupting with questions."

Emily sits the laptop on the coffee table and then takes a seat on the couch next to Hanna. Alison follows, curling up on the other side of Emily.

"As you know," Emily begins. "6 months ago, in the beginning of April, I officially reported Maya missing." There are various nods from the girls and older kids, as they do remember how distraught Emily was when she hadn't heard from Maya in several weeks.

"Well, it turns out that she was not actually missing," Holding up a hand to stop what would be an immediate onslaught of questions, Emily turns to her computer.

"I did not find this out until a week after, what was assumed to be her body, was found in her backyard." Emily works to set up the particular video she wants everyone to watch.

"What do you mean, "what was assumed to be her body"? It wasn't actually her back there?"

Ignoring Spencer's question, Emily says, "Noel came to me in the week after, as I am sure you all remember."

And yes, they _do_ remember. They remember finding an ally in the one person they never considered to be a possible friend.

Noel began bringing Emily her work. He sat with her and he did his own homework, helping out with hers when needed. She studied off his class notes and in that week, they became more than just acquaintances.

They were friends. Possibly, best friends.

Knowing Maya was safe those two weeks, hiding out the Kahn Cabin, instead of with Lyndon, being hurt, having god only knows what done to her, really helped Emily. She began to come to terms with what had happened.

When Emily finally went back to school, Noel has picked her up. She had not told the girls she was coming back to school, so it was a surprise to them to not only see Emily, but Noel as well, walking down the hall.

Noel was slowly introduced into their friends group after that. He became "guy" friends with Caleb and Toby, and by the end of eleventh grade, he was frequently apart of their hangouts, trips to town, and even their sleepovers.

It was somethings the parents had to get used to – their daughters having a guy invited to sleepover, a _boy_ who they _didn't_ have to worry about, as none of the girls and he would ever be romantically involved.

"He told me something that really helped me," Emily continues. "He said…" She swallows hard. "He said that Maya was not missing in the two weeks before her "body" was found." Emily pauses and Alison reaches over, looping their fingers together.

"Maya wasn't missing because she was at his cabin. He was letting her hide there. She showed up and tried to get inside, but set the Kahns' security alarm. When Noel showed up with the police, he found her hiding in the woods behind the cabin. He took her inside and she explained that Nate – Lyndon – was after her. He was trying to hurt, possibly even kill her."

A sigh and then, "He let her stay there for two weeks. Noel tried to get to go to the police, to come to us, but she refused, so he took care of her the best he could. He brought her food, drove her to her house to get extra clothes, and then, she was gone. Her body was found, she was declared dead."

Everyone is stunned into silence with this new piece of information. They all thought Maya was gone, that they had lost her. Everybody grieved for the best friend they would never get to see again, never to speak to, or hang out with.

And now…now Emily is telling them the exact opposite. That Maya is _not_ dead. That she is alive. She is safe.

Emily starts up the video on her laptop. She turns it so everyone can see it clearly.

 ** _Video content…_**

 ** _The video pops up. It's Maya. She is wearing an old t-shirt and sweatpants, and has her hair in tight, ringlet curls._**

 ** _"Hey, Em," She beings. "If you are watching this video, then that means you have access to my website. I hope you've checked the other videos and pictures, there is a lot of stuff meant for you."_**

 ** _"This will be my last entry for a while. Hopefully, what I am saying is true. I really don't want to give you or the girls false hope, especially you or Gracie."_**

 ** _"If it isn't true, then I am so, so sorry, Em. I never meant for it to bring you pain, and I hope you are able to find peace with what this website contains."_**

Emily has to look away. She remembers being on pins and needles, watching this, having hope bubble up inside her. She is so happy that what Maya is saying, or will say, is true.

Back in the video, Maya is taking a deep breath. She doesn't want to mess this up. She knows she does not have time for a retake.

 ** _"However, Em, if what I am saying is true, then I am going in WitSec. My death is going to be faked by the police. I am so sorry for the turmoil this will cause you and everyone else. I wish I could tell you. I wish, somehow, I could let you and Samara know that it isn't true, but I can't."_**

 ** _"I am doing this because it is too dangerous for my family and me to be here. With that guy, you know the one I told you about, my stalker from True North. He's here, Em. And he is after me. He fell in love with me and got so angry when I told him I was with you."_**

 ** _"If you, or Gracie, or the girls or boys come across him, please,_** **please** ** _, Emily, promise you will stay away. He is bad news. He will hurt you. And if he does, if you or Gracie, or any of the others get hurt because of him, because of me, I won't be able to forgive myself."_**

 ** _"I love you, Emily," Maya's voice cracks here. "I love you so much, don't ever forget that. And to anyone else watching, I love you guys, too. All of you. Especially you, Gracie."_**

 ** _"You are all my best friends, my sisters and big brothers. I hope I am able to come home soon. I want to be able to see you all again."_**

 ** _"Alison, if you're watching, know that_** **I** ** _know what a special girl you are. Everyone else sees you as the Queen Bee, as the girl who is a bully, but I know differently. I know, deep down, you are a sweet, kind, and thoughtful young lady. Don't let anyone ever tell you any different."_**

 ** _Another deep breath, "Caleb, don't be an idiot, okay? Stop second-guessing yourself, and just_** **ask Hanna out already** ** _."_**

Emily hears Hanna's sharp intake of breath from beside her at that.

 ** _"Spencer, I know you want to be the best in life, but sometimes, you just have come in second place. But please don't let that ruin things for you. You can still have fun; you can take a break, go shopping, or watch a movie. You can always_** **study for the test later** ** _."_**

 ** _"Gracie, I love you so much, Ladybug. You were like the little sister I never knew I wanted. Be strong for me, okay? I'm sorry I had to leave without a goodbye. I promise I will owe you the biggest favor ever when I come back. I love you, and I am_** **so** ** _proud of you, Grace Noelle."_**

There's a noise in the background that has Maya turning away from the screen. When she faces forward again, tears are running down her cheeks.

 ** _"I have to go. I'm sorry this couldn't be longer. I love you all so much….goodbye."_**

 ** _*End of video*_**

Everyone sits in stunned silence. A few are crying; others are just too shocked to react.

"She–…" Spencer attempts to speak but, honestly, is at a loss for words. "She is…Maya's _alive_?"

Sucking in a breath, Emily nods. "Yes. She went into Witness Protection with her parents. They are living in Montana. I found this video after Caleb was able to get me into Maya's website."

"H-how… how do you know she is in Montanan?" Aria asks next.

"Because the officer in charge of her case told Samara and I. Officer Jackson Taylor called Samara and I. He told us that Maya insisted we were told the truth about what was happening." Emily explains. "If not, then Maya would have come back herself, and that was just too dangerous. We couldn't tell anyone. Not our parents, or you guys. It was too dangerous. If Nate – Lyndon – found out, he could track Maya down and then we would have lost her for real."

As everyone digests this, they all realize one thing.

Alison doesn't look nearly as shocked or confused as the rest of them.

It's Hanna that says it, quite accusingly, too, "Ali, why don't _you_ look like this is news?" And then to Emily, when it dawns on her, " _You_ told her? You said it was too dangerous, but you told Alison?"

Emily holds up a hand.

"No, I didn't tell her, at least, not willingly. I was…I… Ali came over one day and found me watching the videos. I had watched all of them and gone through the photos and diary entries when I noticed a file that I had not opened yet. I opened it and it was this video here," She gestures to the one that is paused on her laptop screen.

"Alison came in the middle of me watching it. She heard Maya say that she was in WitSec, and that she had to fake her death. I let her watch the video and then I told her about what Officer Taylor had told me and Samara."

She sighs deeply, as Hanna deflates a little, realizing that it wasn't exactly planned for Ali to find out.

"I knew I shouldn't have, but she already knew too much, anyway. So I told her, and then made her promise not to say _a word_ to _anyone_."

"We couldn't tell you," Ali finally speaks. Her voice breaks, "We wanted to so badly. Seeing you all suffer while we and Samara knew that she wasn't really gone…God, I am so sorry."

Emily pulls her into a hug and just lets her cry. Spencer and Aria are hugging while Toby comforts Hanna. The older kids are in shock but are so, _so_ grateful that the girl who became like a little sister to them is actually alive.

Once they get their bearings, Spencer clears her throat, and suggests that they just head to bed. Emily and Ali sleep in Em's bed while the others either take the guest bedroom or use the air mattresses on Emily's bedroom floor.

* * *

 **Hey, everyone! I have decided to break this chapter up and make this story a three-shot instead of two.** **This chapter was pretty heavy on the emotions, but the next chapter will be a much happier and lighter one! Emily tells Gracie that Maya is alive, Maya comes home, and Noel finds out also.**

 **I'm not sure when I will update again. This story is something I work on when I have Writer's Block for my other stories, but right now, especially with my new Sparia/Haleb/Emison story, I have a lot of ideas.**

 **I do have the next chapter started, and about 500 words typed, but again, this will only be updated when I get Writer's Block. Also! If you have not, and if you are interested, please go and check out my Sparia/Haleb/Emison story. It is called "We Were Just Kids (When We Fell in Love)". Give that a follow because I am going to be posting chapter 1 in a few weeks! Thank you. :)**

 **Please review and let me know what you thought! :)**


	3. I'm Coming Home

**Disclaimers: I do not own PLL or the characters.**  
 **Spoilers: Season 2 and 3 of PLL. If you have not seen the ending of two onwards, please do not read or read at your own discretion. Spoilers for seasons 4 and 6 of Law & Order SVU.**  
 **Rated: T to be safe.**

 **Thank you to those who reviewed on the last chapter! I hope you enjoy this one. It will be Maya coming home, and seeing everyone.**

 **Notes: Caleb was shot on a Saturday, so two days later would be Monday after school.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 ** _*Two days later – Emily's house*_**

Two days later and everyone is gathered back at Em's house. The girls didn't go to school as they have been back and forth to the hospital to see Caleb, – who is recovering nicely, – and prepping everything for Maya's return, which should be later today.

Emily is also waiting for her sister, 9-year-old Grace, to get home from school. She needs to tell the younger girl that the woman who she looked up to, who she thought of as the best person in the universe, is _not_ dead.

"She's here!" Aria calls out from where she was the lookout, waiting by the window for Grace's arrival. The little girl runs up the sidewalk and throws open the door.

"Sissy, I'm home!" Grace throws down her backpack and runs to the kitchen to find her older sister.

"Hey, Gracie-bug!" Emily picks her up and spins her around, something Pam has told her not to do as Gracie is a third-grader and much too old for Emily to do so (but, Gracie declared, she will never be "too" old for her daddy or one of the boys to do it).

"How was school?"

"Great!" Gracie takes the bottle of water and apple slices and caramel dip Spencer offers her. "Thanks, Spencie! Sissy, we got our spelling tests back today and I only missed _two_ words! But I got the bonus, super bonus, and super-duper bonus words right!"

Gracie's class gets a list of 10 words each week that is appropriate for a third-grader to spell. Then, when their teacher gives the test, she gives three extra words that are harder than the normal ones. These three words can range anywhere from a fourth grader's word to even one only a sixth- or seventh-grader would know.

"Really? Well, that's great! Do you have your paper? We can put it on the fridge to show mommy when she gets home." Gracie nods eagerly and runs off to get it, coming back and showing Spencer, – who gives her approval, – and then puts it up with a magnetic apple.

After a few more minutes, and once Grace is finished with her snack, Emily decides now would be the best time to tell her about Maya.

The girls go upstairs to give them some privacy while Emily tells Grace to go sit on the couch.

"Gracie," Emily begins gently. "I have something I need to tell you."

Grace looks at her older sister, worried for a moment. "Is everything ok, Sissy?"

"Yes, everything is just fine," Emily pauses, wondering how the hell she is going to explain to her 9-year-old sister that the person who was her best friend, who was like a big sister to Grace, is not actually dead.

"Gracie, do you remember a while, earlier this year, when a lot of bad stuff was happening? Back in April?"

"Yes," Grace nods solemnly. "You, and Spence and Ari and Ali and Hanna found out that Mona Vanderwaal was the one sending you bad messages and trying to hurt you."

"Yes, that is right. And do you remember anything else that happened?"

Silence.

She _knows_ Gracie does remember; she knows the minute the little girl brings forth every moment of that bad night.

"Yes," She whispers. "Auntie Maya went missin'. Then the police… found her. They said she was–… That she was dead."

A tear slips down her baby sister's cheek, and it breaks Emily's heart because they _lied_ , they fucking lied to this little girl, and it's just _not fair._

"Yes, that is right," Emily says, then takes a deep breath and steels herself. "Gracie, there is something very important that I need to tell you about that, but first, I am going to ask you a question, to make sure you can understand. Okay?"

Gracie nods.

"Do you remember when mommy let you want Law and Order with me? And you saw Alex get shot?"

"Yes, Sissy. She was shot by a very bad man who was angry with her."

"And do you remember what happened after that? What everyone thought?"

"She wasn't really dead. But she had to pretend to be dead. She had to go into Witness Protection, so the bad man couldn't try to kill her again. But then she came back. When it was safe. She came home again."

Even though she is so very confused, Gracie explains all of this, remembering when Emily explained it to her when they first watched that episode. Grace was very upset because Alex was one of her favorite characters.

But it was all better when her big sister promised she did not actually die, and they watched the end of the episode when Alex meets up with Liv and Eliot to say goodbye and tell them she is going into WitSec.

Emily nods, smiling, or at least, trying to.

"Well, it turns out that…" She takes in a deep, deep breath, and says the words that will upright her baby sister's world. "Maya is a lot like Alex."

She sees Gracie furrow her brow, scrunching up her face in that adorable, little kid confused way.

But the thing about Grace is… she is sometimes too smart for her own good. So, after several minutes of thinking about it, Emily sees an onslaught of emotions flicker across her face.

"What–… What do you mean… by… that?"

Emily runs her tongue over her top lip, gathering herself. "I mean that… Maya is not dead. She was not killed. A very bad man, named Lynden James, tried to hurt her. And she and her family had to fake her death. They went into Witness Protection, and that is where they have been for the past six months."

Another deep breath and then, "What I am saying is that… Maya is alive."

It happens in a flash.

The confused look melts into an oh-so-angry one, as the words hit Grace with full-force. She narrows her eyes and Emily is hit with how much she resembles Alison at this moment.

She even gets the Queen Bee's voice right when she says lowly, "Maya is alive?" And then, "You _lied to me_?"

Emily goes to speak but Gracie is standing up, looking so grown up in this moment, so pissed off, and not at all like a little 9-year-old third grader.

"How dare you!" She screams. "You lied! Why? Why couldn't you tell me this? I–I–…" She deflates, and the words seem to actually settle into her brain, the meaning of them, exactly what her big sister just said, and she crumbles into… into…

She just… sighs, and her bottom lip trembles, and Emily reaches out for her, but she slaps away her hands.

"I _hate_ you!" She screams before turning and running up the stairs, down the hall to her room, and slamming the door.

The girls come down a few moments later, wife-eyed and concerned about all the yelling. Emily tells them that… Gracie took it about as well as she could have managed. She is pissed, but that was expected, because this is a big thing to lie to her about.

A fictional character on a TV show faking her death and going into WitSec is one thing. But to be told that someone who she loved, someone who she thought of as a big sister, was dead, when really… she was just like that fictional character, faking her death for her own safety… That is whole other ordeal.

Gracie stays in her room for the next several hours. Emily gets a call from Samara, who has heard from Jack. Maya and her family are flying home at this moment and should be here within a few hours.

Pam gets home around six. Emily tells her what happened with Gracie, and she goes upstairs to speak with her youngest daughter, comforting her, telling her that it was not on purpose that Ali and Emily kept this secret from her.

She also reminds her that the important thing is that… Maya is alive. She is coming home.

At the end of their conversation, Pam tells her she needs to accept Emily's apology but does not have to forgive her if she feels she cannot just yet. Gracie is free to feel all the emotions she is feeling right now, including anger towards her sister.

 ** _:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/:/_**

 ** _*Approximately 4 hours later*_**

It's not until the evening, after dinner and after Gracie has had her bath, that they show up.

Jack brings her by himself while Maya's parents go straight to their old house.

They knock on the door and Maya cannot even begin to describe all the feelings she has in this moment. She is about to come face-to-face with the group of people who she loves more than anyone in the world. The group of people, – her _girlfriend_ – whom she has not seen in 6 months.

The door is opened by Pam, and, while she _knows_ who it is, her heart still stutters at the sight of the girl who she came to think of as her own daughter. Jack takes a few steps away from the two, to give them a little privacy.

"Hi, Pam," She breathes not even bothering to stop the tears.

Pam immediately steps forward, crushing her in a hug. She squeezes just as tightly, reveling in the feeling she was unsure she would get have again. There is rustling directly behind Pam, and then… voices.

Voices of her best friends; of her _family_.

"Em! She's here!"

This is Aria and as soon as it is said, Maya is pulling away from Pam only to be crushed by said girl, along with Spencer, then Hanna, and then…

They pull away, stepping to the side, allowing her to see the person coming down the stairs. Maya's breath catches in her throat as she looks at her… her _girlfriend_. They both close the gap at the same time and before she knows it, she is in the arms of the one person she _dreamed_ of seeing again.

"I am so glad you are here, baby," Emily whispers as Maya tightens her grip. "I love you so much." She feels Maya pressing her face against her neck, murmuring a muffled _I love you, too_ before a sound on the stairs behind them causes them to pull away from each other.

Emily moves out of her line of sight and Maya looks to the stairs…

And…

There she is.

The little girl who she nearly loves more than anyone in the entire world, only second to Emily, of course.

Grace stays frozen, on the fourth step up, wide-eyed and trying to convince herself that the last several hours were just a dream and that she is going to wake up any moment. Even when Maya steps forward, her right foot coming to the first step, she still just… _doesn't believe it_.

Not until Maya is actually speaking, "Gracie…" And reaching out for her, does she _realize_ …

"Maya…?"

"Come here, _Ladybug_."

The nine-year-old practically jumps into her arms at the sound of her nickname, the one Maya gave, the one _only Maya_ was allowed to call her. Maya picks her up, holding onto her even though Grace is nearly too big for her to pick up.

"This isn't a dream, right, Auntie Maya? You're really here?" Maya's heart breaks as Gracie chokes this out but she is immediately tightening her grip, whispering,

"No, _Ladybug_ , no… It isn't a dream. This is real life, baby. I promise."

The two stay in the embrace for several more minutes. Emily tears her eyes away from the sight of her baby sister and the woman she loves, looking to her left, to see Alison there, her baby blue eyes darkening as they fill tears.

Just as Emily goes to pull Ali into a hug, the blonde chokes, "E-Em… You–… You need to call him." Then, she is breaking down in her best friend's arms.

Emily knows she is right – they need to call one last person. The one who it is pertinent to know about what is going on here, at the Fields' residence, at this moment.

Sniffling, Emily pulls back. She walks into the kitchen, to the table where her phone is currently charging, in a mess of homework sheets from Gracie, Hanna, and Aria, and tangled in the cords of Pam and Spencer's phones, and Gracie's tablet, which are all charging, as well.

She picks up her phone, it is an iPhone, and she has to enter a 4-digit passcode to unlock it. _0901_ – Labor Day. The day she and Maya became official. Once it is unlocked, Emily taps the _phone_ icon, and then selects the phone number.

It rings a total of four times, and then…

She hears his voice.

 _"Hey, Em! What's up?"_

She chokes out a sob, trying several times to speak, but failing miserably. In the end, Noel is practically _begging_ her to tell him what is going on.

"No-Noel, I–… I need you to… I need to come over."

He doesn't even question it. The sound of her crying breaks his heart and he is immediately telling her he'll be right over.

He goes to tell his parents, who protest at first but then give in when they see the distraught look on his face, companied by him saying, "It's Em. I don't what happened. She just called and asked me to come over. She could barely speak she was so upset."

They permit him to go then. And he rushes to find a bag, stuffing clothes in it suitable for school tomorrow, along with a toothbrush, He grabs his school bag, as well. He has no idea what is going on, or if he will even need to spend the night, but it is better safe than sorry.

He makes it to the Fields' house in less than 15 minutes. Emily opens the door before he is even all the way up the porch steps, and the look on her face…

God, it breaks him.

He stumbles a bit, feeling the air knocked out of him. Reaching for her, Noel pulls Emily into a hug as she breaks down but only for a second because then…

Then, she is pulling away, and she is sniffling, and taking a deep breath, and saying,

"Noel, I want you to know that we had to do this. It was the only way she would be safe, and I am so, so sorry we could not tell you."

It confuses him. His mind is not processing things clearly at the moment, but he follows her inside, and to the kitchen doorway entrance, and…

She steps out from around the corner. Distantly, the bags in Noel's hands make a _thump_ sound when they slip from his grasp.

He feels like he literally _can't breathe_.

The girl he is looking at–… There is–… No, it has to be something else, he reasons. A relative. A cousin. It has to be, because…

There is absolutely no way he is standing in Emily Fields' kitchen, looking at…

"M-Maya?"

* * *

 **And there it is!** **This is going to be an even four chapters. Next one will be Noel and Maya talking, and Emily, Ali, and Maya explaining about her and her family going into Witness Protection. I am not sure when that one will be up, as this story is not a priority at the moment, so I don't really spend much time writing it.**

 **Please review and let me know what you thought! :)**


End file.
